DRINKING WATER
The Power Of Ductile Iron Pipe: A Solution For Every Application
Ductile iron pipe is a versatile, reliable solution that resists UV degradation, freezing, and physical stress. Its unmatched durability ensures long-term performance in any piping application.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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Arsenic Removal Pilot Study Meets California Standards (Loprest)
Well water from several locations in Ridgecrest, California area is high in arsenic, carbonates and pH. Due to the high levels of arsenic, some wells are not being used to supply municipal water to the city of Ridgecrest and were shutdown. Due to local demand, the feasibility of treating these wells to remove most of the arsenic before blending with water from other wells is being investigated.
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12 Installation Tips For Challenging Pipeline Repairs
Having to repair old, worn, broken, or leaking pipes is bad enough. Having to revisit the repair location a second time to refurbish the original fix is doubly frustrating. Here are some guidelines for getting the best results from pipeline repair efforts and enhancing the durability of the repair effort to match the anticipated service life of the pipeline itself.
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Tapping Into A Smart Utility Network To Uphold Water Quality
For municipal water systems, the endless demand to maintain water quality can be challenging. Anytime the quality or pressure drops far enough to necessitate a boil notice, the costs to inform residents and get the problem under control can be extensive. It can also create a public relations nightmare. Newer solutions provide a cost-effective way to build an entire smart utility network to more proactively manage water quality and generate greater ROI.
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Case Study Report For Z-88® Radium Removal – Village Of Oswego, IL
The Village of Oswego, IL selected WRT’s Z-88® Radium Removal treatment system to remove high concentrations of radium in their public drinking water. Eight city wells are currently being treated by Z-88® Radium Removal treatment systems. All eight treatment facilities are now producing safer drinking water since the first installations in 2005.
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Tracking Groundwater Remediation Efforts Using Rare Earth Elements
Contaminated sites can pose complex cleanup challenges, especially when there are multiple chemical contaminants and difficult geological or site conditions. Contaminated soils and groundwater are particularly tricky to remediate due to the challenge of gathering information about the underground environment from the surface.
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Unseen Connections: How Non-Revenue-Water Is Linked To The Hidden Hazard Of Sinkholes
This article explores how NRW can contribute to the formation of sinkholes, and why addressing non-revenue water is vital for preventing these potentially dangerous occurrences.
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How Strategic Valve Installation Prevented Service Disruption at a Senior Living Facility
Learn how Hydra-Stop’s insertion valve provided new control points to mitigate future disruptions during a service line emergency.
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Resilience In The Face Of Emerging Contaminants
There are over 150,000 public drinking water systems in the United States and more than 80 percent of the population receives their potable drinking water from these systems. And today our water systems are faced with a growing list of challenges.
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Harmsco At Work: World Class Water Features …
The facility’s Management Team set a goal to reduce their maintenance and operating expenses by greater than 25%. The Management Team researched filtration options available and determined that the Harmsco® Hurricane® Filtration System would meet or exceed their requirements.
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Addressing Water Treatment Challenges Faced By Potable Water Utilities
“Emerging Contaminants" can be broadly defined as any synthetic or naturally occurring chemical that is not commonly monitored in the environment. These substances have the potential to enter the environment and cause known or suspected adverse ecological and/or human health effects.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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(E)-2-Nonenal In Beer4/5/2015
Numerous compounds contribute to changes in beer flavor as it becomes stale. One of these compounds, (E)-2-nonenal, has been investigated as a major source of the papery/cardboard flavor that develops in aged beer.
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Bringing Efficiency And New Confidence To BOD₅ Analysis2/4/2013
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) analysis is the test everyone loves to hate—and for compelling reasons.
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How To Install A Submersible Pump In Discharge Tubes11/28/2012
In the fields of water and waste water technology, submersible pumps represent a viable economic and technical alternative to conventional, dry-installed pumps. In particular, they offer a number of handling advantages during maintenance and installation work.
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The 'First Line Of Defense' In Protecting Membrane Filters8/9/2019
Multi-element, self-cleaning pretreatment filters optimize membrane filter life and production while minimizing maintenance and downtime.
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Protection Of Membrane Systems Utilized For Municipal Water12/1/2020
As water scarcity issues around the world become more acute, more municipalities are having to turn to alternative water sources for potable water supplies. Also, many municipalities in coastal areas are seeing the quality of their water sources degrade as sea water intrusion occurs.
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Water Treatment In Boilers And Cooling Towers10/29/2021
Most people recognize problems associated with corrosion. Effects from scale deposits, however, are equally important. For example, as little as 1/8" of scale can reduce the efficiency of a boiler by 18% or a cooling tower heat exchanger by 40%!
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Application Note: Simultaneous Determination Of Total Bound Nitrogen (TNb) And Total Organic Carbon (TOC) In Aqueous Samples5/31/2011Total bound nitrogen (TNb) consists of dissolved ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, amines, and other organic nitrogen-containing compounds. TNb measurements represent an alternative to Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) analysis for rapid screening of industrial wastewater, drinking water,agricultural run-off, and surface waters. By OI Analytical
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Reduced Bore Electromagnetic Flowmeter10/29/2021
Being able to accurately measure both the quantity and rate of water passing through a water distribution system is crucial to gain an informed understanding of overall efficiency. As such, achieving a measurement that is exact as possible can have a significant impact on key areas. This includes supply planning, maintenance, resource deployment, leakage detection and the overall environment.
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Application Note: Continuous Monitoring Of Drinking Water Provides Assurance Of Safety9/28/2005A water utility in Ohio wanted to learn more about the variability of water quality parameters such as pH, ORP, turbidity, and chlorine. Previously, most of these parameters had been measured by spot sampling protocols with only a few measurements during a daily period. In order to more accurately assess the water variability, the utility used a YSI 6920DW Drinking Water Multiprobe
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Operations And LRV Calculations At Southwest Pipeline Project Drinking Water Treatment Facility4/14/2016
This presentation will discuss the operation of a 4 MGD pressurized two-stage Ultrafiltration (UF) plant over a 14 month period at the Oliver-Mercer-North Dunn (OMND) Drinking Water Treatment Facility, North Dakota.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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Every year on November 19, Water Mission observes World Toilet Day — a day designated by the United Nations to focus on the importance of safe sanitation for all.
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Global Water Outcomes expert notes that “water utilities are facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities,” citing the role of digital solutions moving forward.
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In this Q&A, Dr. Elke Süss of Metrohm addresses the urgent need for haloacetic acid testing in response to “one of the most significant updates to EU drinking water monitoring in recent years.”
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Amazon and Xylem partner to tackle Mexico’s leaking water systems as the country balances water scarcity and a growing tech sector.
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Water scarcity is increasingly impacting sectors from agriculture and energy to urban planning and high-tech manufacturing. Recently, industry leaders gathered to explore how new technologies and complex industrial demands are forcing a fundamental rethinking of water infrastructure.
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Nobel-winning molecular materials are poised to reinvent purification, desalination, and reuse.
ABOUT DRINKING WATER
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.